Making Over Uglies

Digging through a box of books the other day, I came across what I thought was a new Scott Westerfeld book. “Yay!” said my brain—until I realized the title read Uglies. “Wait, what?” I thought. “This isn’t Uglies!”

The “trilogy plus one” is receiving a full redesign (in hardcover, no less) by publisher Simon Pulse, from the covers to trim size and page design. While the new jacket for Extras does pay homage to the original, the new Uglies cover with its haunting covered face bears a closer resemblance to the opening credits of the (adult) TV show Dexter than it does to the original cover. The new Pretties cover reminds me of another grown-up show, Nip/Tuck, making me wonder if the makeovers are an attempt to market the books to an older audience. Though the new covers don’t appeal to me personally, I’ve seen plenty of positive buzz about themonline from adult bloggers.

I feel these remakes lack the pizzazz of the original books: their smaller size, mysterious teenaged faces, and eye-catching spines. And while the images on the new covers are startling (as is the use of sterile white), they just don’t do justice to the uniqueness of Westerfeld’s dystopian world. Ironically, the new versions look like New Pretty Town–style extreme makeovers of the originals—sexed-up and stripped down. I’m the first to admit I can be averse to change, but in this case, change seems unnecessary and a little compromising. What do you think?

Comments

>These covers certainly look like they appeal to an older crowd. I've had sixth grade girls tell me these are the best books they have ever read and these covers might cause parents to tell there tweens to choose something else.

>I don't like the new covers at all. Well, I like the new covers as book covers, but not as new Uglies covers. I think they are definitely going for the crossover appeal, but perhaps losing the teens in the process.

>Agreed – I don't like the new covers either. As a bookseller, I always loved shelving the books spine-out so that the wraparound pictures made weird images. I feel like the old covers speak more to the content of the books.

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